Questions and Answers

Question: I zipped and
e-mailed a large file on my hard drive, but the zip is tiny --Why?

Answer:You probably zipped a
shortcut, not the file to which it refers! If you can not see
the file extension
in Windows Explorer, click Tools (menu) > Folder Options > View
TAB, and turn OFF "Hide Extensions for Known File Types".

Question: Why does Lotus
1-2-3 version 5.0 / other software that’s more than 7 years old not
load on Windows 2000 / XP / Vista / 7?

Answer: It does not have the necessary compatible files to do
so or the original disks are damaged. Software of this age is not
replaceable; unfortunately you will have to invest in the latest
version.

Q: My modem won’t dial out
since we had a new switchboard installed!

A: Analog modems will not work on digital lines, so
make sure that you have an analog line for the modem unless you have
already moved to ISDN, which only works on ISDN lines and not
digital. ISDN is definitely worth the expense as downloads are
markedly faster. An alternative we prefer is ADSL, which is "always
on". Again, this requires its own type of modem.

Question:
Our NT workstation refused to find the Windows 2000 server using
either a static IP address or DHCP. We checked the network card,
changed the port on the hub and the network cable with no success.
Changed the identification from domain to workgroup – and then
attempted to go back again, no joy.

Answer: So what worked? Going into Windows 2000 Server’s
administrative tools, Active Directory Users and Computers; here we
reset the computer’s account. Bingo – back on the domain! This
despite the fact that the account was active and reporting no
problems on the server.

Q: Why would my
networked Access database keep getting corrupt?

A: In the recent case of one of our favourite customers, our
hardware people diagnosed a faulty hub. Remember that databases are
very sensitive to corruption, and you need to keep frequent backups.

Q: I cannot load a new program
on my PC, why not?

A: There are two possible reasons:

1.You are running Windows 2000 Pro or XP
Pro and do not have administrator rights. In this case, ask
your IT support person to log on as administrator and load the
program for you.

2.You are running Norton Utilities and
this program sees a new program being loaded as a virus attack. We suggest
removing Norton Utilities (but not the AntiVirus program) completely and then
rebooting and loading the program. With Windows 2000 and XP Pro, you do
not need Norton Utilities and the program causes a lot of problems on these
platforms.

Q: Norton AntiVirus will not load and
I am getting strange messages about OVHA.exe trying to write to
gjdamag.dll, what is the problem?

A: .You have the bugbear virus. Contact us or your
support person for the fix or download it from the Symantec site.
PLEASE update your antivirus EVERY WEEK to prevent this happening.

Q: Microsoft Outlook
refuses to let me see attachments to incoming e-mails, with the
message “Outlook blocked access to the following potentially unsafe
attachments…”, even though they come from someone I trust. What can
I do?

A: Outlook 2000 SR-1 (Service Release 1) and later include
what Microsoft calls “a new security feature that blocks attachments
considered potentially unsafe”. This includes EXE (executable
files), MDB (Access Databases) and many others. There is no way of
removing or modifying this bug and Microsoft currently don’t
intend providing one. They say this “provides an additional level of
protection against malicious messages”. First, we suggest sending a
flame to
feedback@microsoft.com about Microsoft crippling their products
because they always know better than the users do about what is good
for them and are too bone-idle to address the problem in a
constructive way, like warning the user if something malicious
actually tries to run. Secondly, get the sender to change the file
extension to something Outlook does not block yet, like FBG (BG for
“Bill Gates”, you can guess what the “F” is for) and re-send the
mail (telling you what the extension should be). Note that
self-extracting Zip files, having an EXE extension, will also be
blocked.

Programmers! If you want your software to be able to by-pass
the problem, get "Outlook
Redemption".

Answer: – This caught me out completely as I had forgotten
that it made itself the default printer. Be warned and check that
you have not lost your printer!

Q: I downloaded the
Redfern Label templates from your web site but they don’t work –
as one goes down the sheet, they print progressively higher and
higher relative to the actual labels, and the bottom row of labels
is 20 – 25 mm too high!

A: Your printer is set to print to (US) Letter paper, which
is 25 mm shorter than A4. The problem usually arises when Windows
has been left with the default United States settings by a lazy (or
ignorant) installer. Fix this as follows:

On the "Time" Tab, check that
the format is the way you want it (use HH:mm for a 24-hour clock – Note
the Capital "HH").

On the "Date" Tab, check that
the formats are suitable (we suggest dd/mm/yyyy and d mmmm yyyy).

Click
OK and restart the PC.

The default paper size will
then automatically go to A4.

This change will also do useful
things like causing the default dictionary to be English rather than
American!

Q: What is a wildcard and why
is it useful?

A: It is the character * on the keyboard and we use it
particularly in searches when the search must return all known
examples that we are looking for – e.g. *.bat will give you all the
PC’s batch files; *.co.za will return all the .co.za domain names or
e-mail addresses that you might have on your database.

Q: My ISDN line keeps
dialling out - Why?

A: This happens on Windows 2000 server using MS Proxy Server
whenever someone accesses an HTML document. There is no fix! We will
be testing ISA server soon to see if this fixes it. Our current
solution is to take the user name out of Proxy and put it back when
we actually need other network users to have access!

Incidentally, this does not happen if you are using Midpoint Lite
Internet Access software, so that may well be a better solution than
Proxy – please ask us about this if you are interested.

Q: What is a Backup?

A: It is a compressed form of your data and can be
obtained in a number of ways. Windows 2000 Server and Professional
come with a Microsoft backup solution that works and backs up to
diskette, CD or tape. It does not work as well on 200 Pro, so a
proprietary solution such as Veritas Backup Exec is a good idea.

Winzip will zip your data across diskettes and the Iomega zip drive
will use its own software to do the same but onto its larger drive.

Regularly writing your data to CD also gives you a backup. Maximizer
has its own backup utility and this can be used to back up your
vital CRM information at least once a week.

Q: Why make Backups?

A: You mean we haven't bored you out of your skull by
insisting that you do backups? Sorry, but its true. Your PC is
fragile and if you don't have copies of your data elsewhere, you are
at serious risk! We continually harp on the need to keep
backups, yet we recently had a customer who had a virus delete her
Maximizer contacts, and she had made no backups. "I didn't think I'd
need a backup", she said.

Question: Why can’t I send out my mailshot? I get an
error message saying no disk space available for this procedure.

Answer: Unfortunately that’s why – clear some space on your
PC’s hard drive so that there is room to write the files to it, by
deleting the *.tmp files from it. If you are really short of hard
drive space, then you will have to look in depth at what else is not
wanted on the drive or purchase a new drive for your PC.

Q: Can I use Microsoft
Office on my laptop as well as my PC?

A: Providing it is an 80/20 situation, you may load your
copy of Office on both. The two must each have their own operating
system software as this cannot be shared.

Q: Someone developed
a Program/Web Site for me, now they say it is their intellectual
property and refuse to give me the source code. What can I do?

A: To avoid this problem you should always have a development
contract in which copyright and ownership of code are explicitly
stated (we always do this in our development contracts). If it is
developed exclusively for you, you should have copyright and
ownership. If you have only a verbal agreement, you may face a legal
battle to get them.

Q: Someone wrote a program for me a few years ago. They have
now disappeared and I need the program modified. Can you do it for
me?

A: With great difficulty, if at all, unless you have the
source code! Always insist on the source code of anything that is
developed exclusively for you. If you aren't entitled to the source
code (as with off-the-shelf software), does the supplier have a
support plan in case they are no longer willing to support the
software? For example, Communication in Action (Software Africa) has
taken over Pastelizer from Partner Systems, and various programs
from EngiNet (Pty) Ltd.

Q: Network connections
were being lost on two Windows 2000 Pro PCs regularly, with loss of
work and database corruption. A similar site did not have this
problem, what was the cause and why?

A: The Windows 2000 Pro PCs on site 1 were not being
regularly updated from the Internet. Microsoft Mail, which was being
run on both sites, can and does cause a loss of connection as it
drops the SMTP connection. Updating the PCs with SP2 and all the
latest patches appears to have sorted it out. We are now watching to
make sure that we regularly update all users with the relevant
patches!

Q: What is the Apple equivalent
of Outlook?

A: Don’t trust your Apple supplier to know this! It is part
of the Apple version of Office and is called Entourage!
Incidentally, Apples and PCs can talk using AppleTalk but on a
peer-to-peer network you will require additional software from the
Apple supplier to make this happen.

How to do a "Print Screen" in Windows

We sometimes ask users to do this, and a
Computer Super Secrets
e-mail tip from Andy Lanning reminded us that others might like to know too.

Say that you need a picture of what your screen looks like, for example to
show the IT Support person an error message. Follow these steps:

Press the "Prt Scr" button above the Insert
and Home keys (if you want a picture of just the active
window, not the whole screen, use Alt+Prt Scr instead).

Nothing seems to happen. Actually, a copy of the screen is now on your
clipboard waiting to be pasted.

Open Word, WordPad, or a new e-mail.

Paste (Ctrl+V or Edit, Paste or right-click, Paste).

Contributed Tips

Would you like to add a tip of your own? (due acknowledgement will be
given!) –
click here.